


Of Good Starts and Requirements.

by dimplesmcflirt



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Not to slow, Rating earned in last chapter, Sloiwsh burn, it's only 4 chapters long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:08:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25222906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimplesmcflirt/pseuds/dimplesmcflirt
Summary: "When Lily Evans received her first Hogwarts letter she already knew she was going to get it, or at least had some idea she would, but it was still absolutely magical. When James Potter received his first Hogwarts letter it was the furthest thing from unexpected, even though it was still exciting.By the time they received their last ones, their situations would be reversed. Why is that you ask? Because Lily had absolutely no doubt in her mind she’d receive the Head Girl badge with hers, and so she did. Receiving the Head Boy badge with his letter was the last thing James expected, and yet, it happened as well."
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 3
Kudos: 66





	1. Good Starts

**Author's Note:**

> I am commited to not letting that awful woman ruin Harry Potter for me. 
> 
> This came about from an idea a friend of mine had in an online book group we're in, a lot of people seemed into the idea and I volunteered to write it. So here it is.

When Lily Evans received her first Hogwarts letter she already knew she was going to get it, or at least had some idea she would, but it was still absolutely magical. When James Potter received his first Hogwarts letter it was the furthest thing from unexpected, even though it was still exciting. By the time they received their last ones, their situations would be reversed. Why is that you ask? Because Lily had absolutely no doubt in her mind she’d receive the Head Girl badge with hers, and so she did. Receiving the Head Boy badge with his letter was the last thing James expected, and yet, it happened as well. 

Their reactions to it was wildly different as well. As much as Lily was happy about it, a part of her, a bigger part than she’d like to admit was shaking in her boots with anxiety over the possibility that Severus Snape might be chosen head boy. They didn’t really have a relationship anymore, and it wasn’t for lack of him trying and more so an excess of Lily’s justified unwillingness to engage in one. 

James on the other hand, spent the entire day in complete disbelief, hysterical fit of laughter at the absurdity of it included. He didn’t bother showing it to his parents, to his best mate, or his other friends. He tried to behave as normally as he could, and looked at it curiously when he settled in to go to bed. Surely this had to be a mistake. But then again, they couldn’t possibly have meant it for Sirius either, and it came with his letter. He wouldn’t blame Minnie if with all that was going on she had mistakenly sent it his way, the war raging in the Wizarding World was a perfectly acceptable excuse to slip on something like this. Maybe she meant to send this for Remus, he had been there the day before after all. 

It’s funny when it comes to it, that both of their solutions involved sending their favourite professors at Hogwarts a letter. Lily, naturally, wrote to Horace Slughorn, who she knew favored her in class, and wouldn’t begrudge her the information if he had it. Lily was right, as much as the professor had been happy to hear from her and reply, he was only able to tell her that Snape had in fact not be named head boy, but he had no information as to who had. He was sorry not to be more helpful, and wished her a lovely end of summer. 

James on the other hand, busied himself writing Minerva McGonagall. 

“Dearest Minnie, 

How are you my darling professor? I hope well, all things considered. 

I am writing you for a reason that I have to admit, I never expected to have to do so.   
You see, I’m quite perplexed at having received the Head Boy badge along with my Hogwarts letter and I wonder if a mistake of any kind has been made? Obviously, I would never want to assume you would be capable of such a thing, it just seems that this was an odd decision to be made. Maybe you meant it for Remus Lupin who happened to be at Potter Manor recently? 

Looking forward to clearing this up, seeing your lovely face again and bringing the team the house cup once more. 

Yours truly,   
James Potter.” 

To say Lily was relieved at Slughorn’s response would be an understatement. She couldn’t honestly imagine any other scenario where things might have been as awkward as it would have been if Snape had been head boy. James Potter though, held his breath up until the point his great horned owl, Artemis, returned with a letter, that simply read: 

“Mr. Potter, 

No mistakes have been made. 

Congratulations, 

Minerva McGonagall.” 

That was that then. It wasn’t a mistake. James Potter was Head Boy, he needed to tell his friends, and he would soon, since they were all coming over in two days. 

The day went by without a hitch, his mom had as usual sorted out way much more food than they’d need, they drank butterbeers and fire whisky, they splashed in the pool and played a bit of quidditch. They all showered and spent the rest of the evening in one of the sitting rooms, fireplace running on low and passing the bottle of whisky amongst them as they played cards. 

“Lily’s running a bit crazy trying to figure out whose Head Boy. She sent me a letter. Slughorn’s told her it’s not Snape, but it’s not me either.” Remus piped up after a minute or two of silence, and this might have been a tricky topic in the future but James and Lily Evans are actually on good terms, even so, he straightened up at the topic, obviously for other reasons. 

“You reckon they gave it to that git from Hufflepuff? He’s a bit of a pushover isn’t he?” Sirius offered up next and James, unable to stop himself starts laughing awkwardly. 

“You guys wanna hear something hilarious?” He posed and the three of them looked at him so he would go on. “It’s me, I got Head Boy.” There was a dead silence for about ten seconds after that. 

“Come off it, Prongs.” Sirius spoke up first, looking at him as if he’s grown an extra head. 

“I mean it.” He said then, a bit defensively. 

“No, really, James, come on...” It’s Peter that was the next to say something, and James couldn’t help it, he was starting to get offended. He was feeling weird about it as it was. 

“Accio badge.” He called before they can say anything else, and the Head Boy badge that was in his room came flying right over and settled in the hand he had waiting for it. “As I said, I got Head Boy.” James added, a bit pressed, setting the badge down before he looked at his cards again. 

“Prongs, you know they didn’t mean anything by it, right? We’re just surprised.” Remus was the one to speak up then. “We didn’t think you’d even want something like that.” 

“I didn’t. I didn’t ask for it or anything, I just got it.” James sighed. “It just happened.” 

“I mean, congrats and all mate, but...” Sirius trailed off then after a while. “You’ve got to hand it to Minnie, this was either really stupid, or absolutely brilliant.” He laughed then, and put his cards down, winning that round of the game. 

“Right?” James asked, agreeing and the atmosphere between the four of them changed, becoming comfortable once more. 

Lily Evans was sure of three things about the Head Boy position when she gets to King’s Cross station September 1st of that year. The first is that Severus Snape is not the Head Boy, the second is that neither is Remus Lupin, the third is that she still has no idea who is. And then, the answer is shone upon her as she walked up to Remus once she got there and greeted him, only to turn to James Potter and see the Head Boy badge in his hand, as he usually does with the Snitch back at Hogwarts. The boy really didn’t know how to keep his hands still. 

“Potter, is that...” The words had started coming out of her mouth before she could really stop herself. 

“Yeah, Lily, looks like you’re stuck with me for the year.” James chuckled a bit awkwardly, as he held the badge up. 

“Wow, I’m...” Now the words seemed to have actually vanished from her mine. “Congratulations?” 

“You’re congratulations?” Black teased her, leaning into his best mate’s side, smirking at Lily. 

“I mean, just congratulations. It’s quite unexpected though, isn’t it?” She looked up at James again, and she knew she didn’t sound dismissive or upset, the fact that it was surprising was just that, a fact. “You weren’t even Prefect, I thought that was a mandatory qualification.” 

“Guess not.” James shrugged, trying to get a better sense of how she felt about it, but Lily wasn’t giving much away, until she smiled what seemed to be a genuine smile. 

“Well, let’s hope we manage to work together well then. See you at the meeting, James.” That was enough for him, as James clocked that at the 9th time Lily Evans had called him by his first name in their 6 years at Hogwarts. Even the year before where their interactions had became less inflammatory she usually still called him Potter, even if it held a lot less of the venom she had often reserved for him. 

The meeting after everyone’s initial surprise at James being there and being Head Boy settled down, went out without a hitch. Remus was still there in his capacity as a prefect, the other Gryffindor prefects knew and liked him, the lot from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw at least admired him, and he wasn’t surprised at the disdain from Slytherin. Severus Snape himself, look particularly irked, it was actually hard to keep from smiling smugly at him. 

“I’m sorry if I was rude, earlier, about you getting the position.” Lily turned to him once the last of the prefects left, leaving the two of them alone. “I really did mean it that I hope we work well together. This meeting went well. I get why Dumbledore and McGonagall might have chosen you.” 

“You do?” Lily blushed a bit at the surprise in James’ voice, but it was true, he was surprised at the borderline compliment she was giving him. 

“People respect you, they admire you... They respect you, even if begrudgingly, like... Well, you know.” 

“Snivellus doesn’t respect me, Lily.” It’s clear that when the nickname left his mouth her demeanor changed, and he could actually watch the internal battle she had with fighting the urge to defend Snape. “Sorry, Snape doesn’t respect me. He doesn’t even respect authority, he just hates getting on your bad side.” 

“Well, we’re past that, aren’t we?” Lily crossed her arms and took a deep breath, looking up as she let her body settle into a more relaxed position as well. “All I meant is that you’re a natural leader, you make people want to follow you, it’s why you’re such a great quidditch captain.” 

“Careful there Evans, I might get used to you being this nice to me.” He teased, smirking a bit, but it was good natured. 

“Well, I’m an extremely nice person, if you weren’t such a git you’d get to see that more.” Lily smirked back so he would know she was teasing him also. “This was a good start.” 

“Well, to good starts then.” James offered her his hand, and watched as she took it after only a small beat. 

“To good starts.”


	2. Shaky Ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's the second chapter. A butt load of classic cliche Jily tropes, I hope you enjoy.

And a good start it was. James was in fact as Lily had put it a natural leader, but he was managing his 7th year at Hogwarts, which granted, studies were never his priority, but it was still the Marauders last year at Hogwarts and he couldn’t ignore that based on his now new role as Head Boy. He was also quidditch captain, and he was set on bringing the cup back this year, having lost it the year before. On top of that, as much as he couldn’t let it get in the way of the Marauders’ last year at Hogwarts, he was in fact Head Boy. 

Lily was a godsend, and to be honest, to her James was quite a delightful surprise as well. Lily enjoyed busy work, she enjoyed being in charge, and she hated having her authority questioned when it came to her duties, and James, unexpectedly, had no problem with that. He offered help if she needed, he left her to take care of what she needed, and if her orders needed to be reinforced, he backed her up without a pip. 

They had to share part of their living quarters, which could be awkward but both of them had gone from sharing a bathroom with 4 other people and a common room with the whole of Gryffindor, to only have to share those with each other (and their guests) and having a bedroom of their own was a welcome change. 

To her ongoing surprise, with that she was informed James was an early riser, but he had an early morning workout routine that meant he didn’t shower right away, it was good for her seeing Lily enjoyed sleeping in a bit and liked to get her shower out of the way first thing. She’d usually get up halfway through his regimen and took a nice shower she didn’t have to rush through, she finished usually just a couple of minutes after James was ready to take over the bathroom, and he never complained about the short wait. 

They had no run ins, no issues, they worked on a system. It wasn’t until one day after a really rough practice on the quidditch pitch for James, and a frustrating study session at the library for Lily, that they found themselves in the bathroom at the same time. 

Lily was quietly enjoying herself a relaxing bubble bath, having gotten so used to the routine she didn’t lock the door on James’ side of the Jack and Jill bathroom, which explained him barging in completely oblivious to her, tugging at the back of his quidditch sweater and throwing it aside, along with the undershirt. Leaving nothing but the expanse of his broad, smooth, sweaty back and the expanse of his chest reflected in the mirror for her to observe, his eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath. 

James skin wasn’t tan, but it wasn’t really as pale as hers, it was something in between. His shoulder blades were strong and he was wider at the shoulders than she would have assumed, he looked skinnier in his school robes. His chest was also defined, and it heaved with his effort to take in long, calming breaths, drops of sweat making their way down his well carved stomach. Lily was frozen for what must have only been a couple of seconds, but felt like an eternity from the way she was processing the situation. “Potter!” She finally shrieked. 

His eyes moved first to the door, because that’s where he expected to be coming from, confusion settling on his face as he doesn’t find her there. James finally seemed to spot her there, in the tub, curled into herself in what clearly was an attempt to make herself smaller out of a sense of modesty, even though he couldn’t see anything through the bubbles. Other than the fact that Lily is there, in the tub. In his haste he hadn’t noticed her before. 

“Do you mind?” She added then, as it had been his turn to be stunned into silence. 

“Right, shit. Sorry Lily. I’ll leave you be.” The Head Boy grabbed at his discarded clothes and rushed out of their shared bathroom, leaning back against the solid oak door and leaving behind a very flustered Lily Evans. 

Later that night as she lied in bed, filled with restless sleep, it were flashes of his strong quidditch defined arms and the long curve of his spine along his muscled back that consumed her dreams, for once making her wake up in a hot sweat, gasping for air, shaking as she reached for the pitcher of water she kept on her nightstand. For all of a good start it had been, this was not where Lily Evans had wanted to find herself. 

So she did what she did best when confronted with feelings she did not care to dwindle on, she ignored them and avoided the subject to the best of her abilities. Which proved to be less complicated than she had expected considering her and said subject shared some living quarters, so she figured for his part, James at least was allowing her the space, and that would’ve been fine if that didn’t add to the pile of conflicting emotions she had over the concept that he was being kind and considerate to how she must be feeling instead of the annoying, overbearing prick she could still remember. 

Avoiding one on one interaction with him as it was, came to an end at the next monthly prefect meeting, which happened two weeks after what Lily was referring to as the bathroom accident. Two whole weeks of being able to ignore the situation at hand, two blissful weeks, that was all she got. 

As usual the Head Girl had taken the lead on the meeting, assigning patrolling shifts making comments on their detention reports and the docking of points, calling out the Regulus Black, the youngest Slytherin prefect on being a little too happy over the ability to do so. It had been like watching a someone load and cock a gun but thinking better of it before pulling the trigger, as she watched the boy look at her with nervous but unquestionable hatred, while James beside herself straightened to the full of his height, looming behind her as a protective figure. Whatever insult he had been ready to hurl her way dying on the younger boy’s tongue. 

“You’re dismissed. Head back to your common rooms.” She added not letting the moment linger, and watched as the prefects filed out of the room. Lily clutched her hands together to keep them from shaking, her emotions that had been threatening to break through the surface completely taking over then, with an onslaught of new ones. 

“Lily...” His voice hit her ears in a tentative manner, hand poised carefully at her shoulder, and it made her shiver, and then it made her unreasonably livid because she couldn’t handle it. 

“You really needn’t have done that, Potter.” She snapped at him a bit aggressively, stepping away from his touch and sitting down at the table so she could find something else, something useful to busy her mind with. “I can take care of myself.” 

“I know that. I was just trying to de-escalate the situation before it became an actual confrontation. I saw the chance and I took it.” Lily wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it, here James was being calm, collected and actually sensible, when she herself felt hysterical. If there was a god of irony he was laughing in her face right now. 

“Well, quite right to.” She said, but it was distant, not the least bit of the casual companionship they had built shining through. “You can head to the dorm now, I’ll be right along.” With that confusion was written all over his face. They had made a habit of heading back together, even if it only stemmed from the practicality of walking together towards the same location with someone to talk to, as opposed to making your way alone through the Hogwarts’ corridors at night. 

“I can wait, I’ve got nothing...” Before he could finish his sentence Lily had cut him off. 

“I said you can head to the dorm, Potter, I’ll be right along.” Oh, how easy it was for Lily to revert back to the familiar venom she always carried when interacting with James Potter. The backlash of it was that the hurt that replaced his confusion actually made her heart clench with guilt now. 

“Right. I’ll see you about, Evans.” As James left her with that her stomach churned as well. The formality of it, meeting her own coldness something she had rarely, if ever seen James direct at her. Her eyes burned with tears in the now empty room, and there she was, Lily Evans, wrecked with tears over James Potter. For all of a good start it had been, this was somewhere Lily had never actually pictured herself going. 

James was perplexed at the turn of events, he was sure he and Lily were long past turning a new leaf and on their way to building a nice relationship, but apparently he had done something wrong. Okay, admittedly walking in on her in the bathroom hadn’t been great but that had been an accident, and he hadn’t even seen anything, surely Lily knew that and they could move past that. Couldn’t they? He’d even given her plenty of space to avoid any embarrassment, but apparently that wasn’t enough, that little mishap was all it took to get him back to square one. 

It was frustrating to say the least, but he decided to let it go, he didn’t try to engage with her or make excuses, if he ever caught himself looking at her he’d make himself stop but the worst thing was that he caught her looking at him plenty of times with that. Always turning away looking flustered. He swore to Merlin he would never understand the woman. 

Lily on the other hand was driving herself frantic on the fact that she had come to terms, or at least something like that, with the idea that she had actual, real feelings for James Potter. And not just the plague your hormonal teenage sex dreams kind of feelings, but the kind of feelings that the idea of hurting someone made you feel sick, feelings. Had she told anyone about it? Absolutely not. But she had accepted it. At least a little. That doesn’t mean she couldn’t hide from him live the devil hid from the cross. 

Their next meeting wouldn’t be for another month, so that gave her a wide berth to acclimate herself better to the idea, or it would have been the case, if she hadn’t been struggling with McGonagall’s homework one week later. 

The theory didn’t faze her, though it never did, she got it down pat, wrote her essay, memorized what she was supposed to do but there was something that just didn’t seem to be clicking, and as much as it hadn’t ever been her best subject she always seemed to manage. But she’d also never been a NEWT level student before. She also found her headspace had never been so much of a mess before, surprisingly she found it was easier to come to terms with hating someone you once loved than it was finding you now fancied someone you thought you once hated. 

Late that Sunday James had just been reviewing some quidditch strategies to take up in training this week ahead of the upcoming game when he heard a knock on the door. He frowned at the idea, because certainly the Marauders would have called him on the two sided mirror before they showed up, and even Sirius who might not, wouldn’t bother knocking either. Then when a second knock came, he noticed it didn’t come from the main door in his room, but the one that led to the joint common room. That made his eyes widen in surprise. 

He walked over and opened it and surely enough there was Lily Evans, looking like she would almost rather be anywhere else. “Lily? Is everything alright?” He called her by her name, because he’d decided even if she wanted to call him Potter he had earned the right to use her name by then. 

“IneedhelpwithMcGonagall’shomework.” She spat out as if he’d be able to make any word of it, before taking a deep breath. “Sorry, I mean... I need help with McGonagall’s homework.” For the second time that night James’ eyes widen in surprise. “I get the theory, I’ve wroten the essay, it’s something about the actual spell, I’m not getting it right.” She sighed then, clearly frustrated with herself, not used to struggling with school work. 

“Okay. Do you want to come in, or do you want me to come out into the common room?” 

“Common room’s fine if you don’t mind.” She told him, smiling a bit, hoping he wouldn’t mind seeing she was the one to be asking for help there, but she didn’t feel like seeing something so personal as his room right now would help. 

“Let me just put a shirt on. I’ll come right out.” He added before closing the door quickly enough, and she was glad that she had been so preoccupied with her homework her brain hadn’t caught on to the fact that James had been shirtless again, and that he was kind enough to bother to put one on as to not inflame her hormones. She sat on the couch to wait, looking up at the light coming in from the skylight, and soon enough James was back, but even with his shirt on, it was snug and it looked soft, with only added to the look of his comfortable pajama pants. His wand was the only other thing he had on him. “Let’s get to work.” 

And so they did, Lily told him about what she thought was the problem, what she was having issues with and James gave her at least three suggestions to work around that and have an easier time performing the spell. None of the first two worked, though she had more success with the second method he suggested her, so they spent a little time on it trying to get it just perfect. He was patient and calm, and kind to her, even a bit eager as he explained his thought process trying to find a way that the spell would work for her, but they needn’t have fret much, because as soon as she tried his last idea it clicked. 

“YOU DID IT!” James yelped, pumping his fist in the air, and even without his outburt she knew it to be true, she felt it. Lily squealed and tried it a couple more times, getting gitty, and before she could stop herself rushing over and giving James a huge hug. 

“Thank you so much, James. I didn’t know what to do, I’ve never struggled this much, and... It’s late Sunday night, you didn’t have to take all this time to help me.” As she started to speak Lily seemed to realize what she’d done and moved to pull away, looking sheepish and flustered at her behavior once again. “Thank you, really.” 

“So we’re back to James, eh?” He asked, ruffling his hair a bit awkwardly, something he chastised himself for because it was a habit he had tried hard to break seeing she seemed to hate it, but she just rolled her eyes and actually giggled at him. 

“If you ever need any help as well, I know you don’t quite care as much, and you won’t need it with Transfiguration, but...” She shrugged. 

“Actually, if you have any time tomorrow, can you look over my essay for Slughorn? I’m fine with the practicalities of potions, but he always enjoys a bit more flourish than I do?” 

“Really someone in the world enjoys more flourish than James Potter? I don’t believe it.” She smirked at him but nodded in agreement. “Just leave it here tomorrow or come find me and I’ll have a look.” 

“Thanks Lily.” He smiled and took a step back. “Well, good night then, sleep well.” 

“You too James, goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, kudos and comments are much appreciated!


	3. Heavy Flirting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, second to last chapter. This could have been posted as a one shot, but I think it worked smoothly this way.

After that the speeding freight train that were her emotions became a complete raging storm. Lily couldn’t look at James without remembering what it felt like to feel his skin under her fingertips, her cheek pressed against his chest, the warm expanse of it the sound of his heartbeat against her ears, the slight smell of sweat mixed with something woodsy and a touch of citrus, how well she had fit in his arms. She couldn’t fall asleep in her own bed knowing he was a few yards away in his own. 

James on the other hand wasn’t fairing so well on his own either, for all the progress he might have ever made it was possible for him to ever stop having romantic feelings for Lily Evans had come to an end, replaced by the certainty that at least a small part of him would always love her. The way she cared for him, teasing even though concerned and how she just was that person, who cared for people. He’d always known that, but now he’d experienced that and he was plagued by it. By her soft touch, by the delicious smell of honey and sunflowers and the beautiful sound of her giggle. He was absolutely besotted. 

Sirius absolutely hounded him about it, though he had the decency of waiting until after Moony’s transformation because that was the issue at hand the next day. As soon as Remus was in the hospital wing resting and they were throwing themselves at the plush chairs by the fire in the Gryffindor common room, it was open season on the questioning. James had no idea where he got the energy from, Peter only mumbled for him to be quiet, but if there was something Padfoot always managed to rally for, was gossip. Specially regarding him and his immediate friends. 

“Think of it what you will, Padfoot, I’m too tired.” James waved him off and sank further into the chair, closing his eyes and letting his body drift off into sleep as his best mate kept trying to keep him awake. 

That Monday on her way to breakfast Lily found a vase with a sunflower and a thank you note. She brought both back to her room and set it down on her nightstand before she headed down to the Great Hall. She had to rearrange her face every time she noticed she was smiling stupidly, which was so often Mary even pointed it out. 

“What’s got you so chipper this morning?” Her friend asked and immediately she found herself searching out James Potter on the table, as if on cue the Head Boy laughed boyishly and she found him easily, and it was like he could sense her eyes on him because he turned to her and waved, making her repeat the gesture. “Oh no you don’t.” Mary said, almost accusingly. “Lily Evans you are not to tell me that after all these years, after all the cursing his existence, you’ve begun to fancy James Potter.” 

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.” Lily dismissed heatedly turning back to her eggs and all but shoving them into her mouth. “I’ve to run, Slughorn asked to see me.” She blurted out as soon as she finished her mouthful. 

“This isn’t the end of this conversation Evans.” Mary called out to her, but soon enough a seventh year Hufflepuff was taking up Lily’s vacated spot and commanding her friend’s attention. 

Obviously Lily had been lying and professor Slughorn hadn’t request a meeting with her at all, so she was left to wonder the halls and she remembered the room Severus had told her about all those years ago and headed over since she still had about an hour until she had to go to class. Lily went about and sorted herself a muggleborn study, picking out Persuasion as she moved to settle on the couch. 

And so went the week, as she did that whenever she had free time, avoiding her friends, avoiding her feelings and avoiding James. That’s why on Friday night when she finds James walking into the hallway from the opposite side of the corridor she walks slowly until they meet in the middle. It’s late, they’ve had supper at the Great Hall and most people have retreated to their common rooms. “Hi.” Lily offers first. “I’ve been meaning to thank you for the flower, I’ve just... Been busy.” It’s the lamest excuse she could ever have come up with but it’s the one she uses nonetheless. 

“Don’t worry about it, Lily.” James smiled easily at her, though he turned at the wall where there wasn’t a door set up yet. “Well, I suppose you’re here for the Room of Requirement?” 

“Yeah, I... Left most of my books at home this summer as an attempt to make me focus on my studies so... I’ve been coming here to read. Counterproductive, I know.” She chuckled, blushing a bit trying not to dwell on the fact that the physical separation from him also helped her mind focus on something that wasn’t him. 

“Sirius dung bombed my room hoping that would make me sleep up at the Gryffindor dormitory.” James explained, shaking his head, embarrassed but not surprised at his best friend’s antics. “He’s been quite prissy over the fact we haven’t had as much time together as usual, and this week...” he trailed off before he finished his train of thought, which wasn’t something so uncommon for James to do, but it still made Lily frown. 

“Sirius sounds like a scorned girlfriend, boyfriend in this case.” Lily teased, smirking a bit, and James chuckled, scratching at the back of his hair awkwardly. 

“Not the first time I’ve been told our relationship’s a bit incestuous, which in of itself is a massive sign.” He shook his head slowly. “But I reckon I can sleep in our common room, the couch should be fine.” James smiled at Lily, but she eyed him skeptically, making a point of looking him from head to toe. 

“You can’t possibly think I’ll believe that you’re stupidly tall frame can sleep comfortably on that borderline tiny couch.” Lily crossed her arms at him, but bit the inside of her cheek then as she tried to figure out what to do. “And I bet it smells there too.” 

“It wouldn’t be the least comfortable place I’ve ever slept in.” James admitted, and he watched Lily walk through her options. “I’m pretty sure whatever book you want vanishes as soon as you leave the room.” 

“Yeah, that was what I was thinking as well. And I’m just about finished with Emma. Not that I haven’t read it before, I was just... Keen on finishing it today.” 

“Reckon we could come up with a spot that would work for the both of us? And you had a point, I’d stay clear of our rooms for at least a couple of hours, yours might be the least affected, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was at least a bit rancid in there.” 

“I just need the book and a spot to read.” Lily told him, nodding slowly. 

“Well, I just need a shower and a bed. Shouldn’t be a stretch, should it?” He smiled genuinely at her, and watched as she shook her head, though she was still biting the inside of her cheek. 

“Yeah, okay. Seems like a plan.” Lily finally shook herself out of her internal revelry and held out her hand to him. “I think it’ll be easier this way.” She added then, blushing a bit. “Just made sense in my head.” She moved to pull her hand back but James took her hand then before she could. 

“Let’s do this.” James nodded encouragingly and they went about making their requirements. If James got distracted by the soft touch of Lily’s hand while they did, no one could blame him. And if Lily’s focus was on how strong and warm his hand felt around hers, no one could blame her either. 

The door that showed up to them was a nice, solid oak door similar to the ones to their common room, but there are more little intricate details carved on it. James nodded for Lily to go ahead and she took a step forward and opened the door, feeling him right behind her. 

For one thing, the room smelled really nice, and the lighting was warm and inviting, mostly ambiance, with candles littered around. Music surprisingly came from somewhere, soft and soothing. There was a sitting area by some bookshelves with some plush nice arm chairs and a couch, a fireplace to the side. The bed was also a massive, king size, four poster bed with a canopy, it looked positively magically comfortable. To the back of the room there was a door that James figured led to the bathroom. 

“This is... Cozy.” James scratched the back of his hair again thinking that cozy was an understatement as this was definitely openly romantic. “I should go get that shower.” He said before he could dwell on it too much, and stopped by the bed just to check what was on it. “Bloody hell, they’ve got monogrammed pajamas.” He said, holding up the flannel shirt that had J.P. embroidered on the pocket. He set that aside and grabbed the pants before he made his way to the bathroom leaving Lily alone in the room. 

Lily walked up to the bed, where sure enough there was a pair of pajamas for her as well, with L.E. embroidered on the pocket, it seemed so cozy, and she had enough time with James in the shower, she couldn’t resist and slipped it on before she magically folded her clothes and made her way to the bookshelf. Of course, Emma was there amongst many other of her favorites, including collections of poets from Emily Dickinson, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, other books by Jane Austen, some good old Dickens, Shakespeare, George Orwell. Lily eyed them for a bit, before grabbing the book she wanted, and thinking it’d be nice if the fire was on, but obviously, the second she did, the fire lit up immediately. 

She shook her head making her way over to the couch and settling in, but after that it was hard to keep her mind on the words as the sound of the shower suddenly seemed to drown everything out, and her heart beat picked up the pace as she thought of James under the water. It didn’t last long as soon enough the sound of the water was being cut off, and not long after the boy, boy? Man, Lily wasn’t even sure what to think anymore, but James was making his way out of the bathroom, in his pajama pants, no shirt and running a towel over his now wet hair. 

“Are you hungry?” James asked as he stepped out of the bathroom, running the towel over his hair to get it dry as he’d left his wand over the bed, setting the towel aside as he walked up to it, and sending it flying back towards the bathroom, before he realized his questioned had gone unanswered. “Lily? Are you hungry?” He pressed again, and she was looking at him, though she seemed distracted, but seemed to have heard it that time. 

“Uhm, not particularly, but I could eat.” She said, closing the book then, sitting up on the couch. “I didn’t think we could get food in here.” 

“Oh, no, not in here.” He chuckled a bit, and conjured some parchment and a quill, writing down a quick note, before he enchanted it. “A Marauder has his tricks.” James winked at her, as walked to a spot on the wall, closed his eyes and a little hatch appeared in it, much like a mail box opening, that he set the note in and closed it. 

“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me.” Lily smirked then. 

“Now what would be the fun in that.” James smirked wider. “Should be a little while, but not long.” He smiled, and walked over. “So, what is it that you’re reading again?” 

“Emma... It’s from Jane Austen. Do you know her?” 

“I’ve heard of something like Prejudice and Pride and Sensibility and something else?” He offered, frowning a bit as if he tried to remember. “That doesn’t seem quite right, but I think it’s something along those lines. Obviously not as impressive as my Shakespeare knowledge.” 

“I suppose Austen isn’t quite AS popular, but she’s relatively so in the muggle word, more against women I suppose, but still. It’s Pride and Prejudice you were thinking of, and Sense and Sensibility. I’ve read those too. And Persuasion again earlier this week, that one’s my favourite.” She told him, smiling. 

“You like her, this Austen woman?” James asked, leaning in curiously, looking down at the book. 

“I do.” Lily said in barely more than a whisper, he was close enough that she could smell the shampoo in his hair, and it was like the room had combed through her brain and conjured smells from her Amortentia potion, because he smelled impossibly good. 

“Maybe I should give it a shot then, where should I start?” James shot up looking over at the bookshelf. 

“Actually, there’s something that I think you might find really interesting especially considering the whole state of things in the Wizarding World right now. Have you ever read George Orwell? He’s got this book called 1984 that’s about a future dystopic world that lives in a constant war state, it’s about fascism, revolution and a bunch of really relevant things right now. I think you’d love it.” 

“That sounds... Wildly appropriate.” He chuckled, nodding slowly, and grabbed it out of the bookshelf just as the mailbox hatch widened, becoming a larger but not too big opening that James headed over to after setting the book down. “Thank you Milly.” He spoke to the wall as he pulled out a tray and a bottle. “I brought this from home, it’s from Bourgogne, we have a summer house there, attached to a small winery, and my dad got me a crate when they found out I got Head Boy. I’ve brought a couple of bottles from home, it’s really good.” 

“I don’t know where I should start to unpack that sentence.” Lily pointed out genuinely as James came over and set the tray and bottle down at the coffee table and asked the room for two glasses as he began pouring. There were little sandwiches, fruit and cheese on the tray, perfectly complimenting the wine. “Summer house? How many houses do you have? Also your family owns a winery?” 

“One of, I suppose. We also have one in Greece, but we don’t go much to that. And there’s Potter Manor, which is the main house, there’s an apartment in London, the house up north in Godric’s Hollow which is a small cottage like one in a small village, and the houses in France and Greece, so five?” 

“Merlin Potter, I knew you were rich, I didn’t know you were a millionaire.” Lily said surprised, shaking her head as she took the glass he offered her. 

“A millionaire?” James asked frowning. 

“People who have more money they’ll ever spend in a lifetime.” Lily explained taking a sip of the wine, and humming, closing her eyes. “This is delicious.” 

“Oh, I’m definitely that. My kids probably won’t have to as well. And their kids after that.” He chuckled, scratching at the back of his hair again and sipping from his wine. “I told you it was.” 

“I had some idea that you and Sirius were rich, well, he was seeing he was kicked out of his family, but... Wow.” She nodded slowly, taking another drink. “That explains a lot.” 

“What? Me being an arrogant asshole?” James smirked then, and watched her blush a bit. “I’m also an only child and kind of like a miracle baby, if you want to rationalize it any further.” He winked at her and Lily laughed, making him smile. 

“I guess I get it, you’re smart, funny, both academically and physically gifted, you’re charming and you’re fit... Why should you be humble?” She rolled her eyes, finishing her glass of wine and holding out the goblet for him to fill it again as she reached for a sandwich, James having already helped himself to a couple, at least half the grapes and some cheese. 

“You think I’m fit, Evans?” He teased then, though there was genuine surprise in his tone as well, as he smirked as he poured her more wine. 

“You’re sitting next to me without your shirt on, you know you’re fit.” She mumbled, finishing her little sandwich before she turned to the wine again. 

“There’s a difference between me knowing it and you saying it.” James smirked wider, but enjoyed his wine otherwise. “But I think that might have been the most compliments you have ever given me Lily.” 

“Might be the most compliments I ever give you too.” She replied, quick and witty, making him laugh. 

“You’re quite impressive too, you know?” James added then, honestly, almost quietly after a while. “I mean... Obviously, you’re pretty, but you already know that.” He laughed awkwardly, shaking his head slowly, chastising himself. “But you’re also the smartest witch I know, and the fact that you’re a muggle born only speaks to your own talent, desire to learn and apply what you learn and dedication.” He poured himself some more wine as well. “You’re caring and giving and righteous in ways that can be annoying but mostly are completely justified.” James chuckled, setting down the bottle. “You’re the best young witch I know by miles, Lily.” 

The air was thick after James stopped talking, and he watched Lily, sipping slowly from his drink out of having something to do as she seemed to just look at him. That is, until she finally drank the extent of her glass, set it down, and came to straddle his lap, not giving him much time to think about it before she was kissing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'll let you know next chapter is straight up just smut, if that's not your jam, this is where we part. Was it too awful of me to cut things off here? I don't know. Last chapter will be up Sunday!


	4. Sweet Endings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy some sex *chef's kiss*

So this was it, she was kissing James Potter. Had given him little to no warning about it, and initiated it herself as well. As much as watching him go about half naked or be kind and flirty to her had done to shock her system, having him talk in earnest about how great she was, was just too much. 

It was like it happened way too fast and in slow motion at the same time. One minute she was setting down her glass, the other her hands were on his shoulders and Lily was fitting herself over his lap and pressing her lips to his. James wasn’t quite sure how long it took him to respond, but it was just about when the redhead started to slow down and his own mind caught up with him enough so he could wrap his arms around her small figure and kiss her back in earnest. 

Lily soon found out James kissed much like he did everything else, with overflowing passion. He was warm, and just demanding enough without overwhelming her, his hands had a strong enough hold to make her feel safe but not pushed. His muscles were hard under her touch, fingertips stroking his shoulders and his chest. 

There was a conflict in James’ mind as if he should thread carefully or take advantage of the situation presenting itself to him. His touch was a mixture of reverence and desire, as he squeezed her waist and pulled her into him, or one finding its way into her hair, which made the smell of her feel the air, or pressing into her back which made Lily arch into him and make little noises into his mouth. 

In one of those opportunities she felt his tongue brush against her bottom lip and she opened up to him. Lily moved her hands into his hair, adjusting herself more comfortably in his lap, and finally being met with the reason his hands seem to be unreasonably attracted to said hair, despite the messy look, his hair was incredibly soft and absolutely lovely to run her hands through. She tugged at it, deepening the kiss then, pressing closer to him. 

“Lily...” James breathed out a bit disgruntled then. “Unless you’re planning on taking this somewhere, we ought to slow down.” He whispered heavily, resting his forehead against hers, his glasses askew and fogged up on his face as he held on tight to her hips. 

“Who says I’m not?” She added then, hoping she sounded as she secure as she intended as she looked up at him and pulled off his glasses, placing them aside. “Take us to bed, James.” 

“Lily...” He trailed off, dropping his head to her shoulder, nuzzling her neck then taking a deep breath as he squeezed her even tighter. “Don’t tempt me.” 

The girl reached for his chin then, and pressed her lips to his again, soft, slow and sure. “Take us to bed.” She repeated herself, and watched as swiftly, he was on his feet holding her up as she wrapped her legs around his hips. James set her down on the bed and she pushed back, moving until she could feel the pillows as he watched her from the foot of the bed. 

“God, you are so beautiful.” He whispered, as he got up on the bed as well, making his way towards her, her lips swollen from the kiss, hair a bit tussled from his hands face flustered, the blush going down further as he started undoing the buttons on her pajama shirt as she guided his hands there. “You’re sure about this?” 

“Honestly I’ve been having a hard time thinking about anything other than this since you’ve made a point of not being a jackass that looks impossibly good without his shirt on.” She whispered a bit impatiently as she tried to get him to work on her buttons faster, but he held her hands easily. 

“So all I had to do was walk around half naked more often?” James teased as he leaned to kiss her lips again, leaning down then, pressing his lips softly to her now uncovered skin, and doing that all the way down as he took his sweet time working on the buttons of her top. “You’re seriously sure about this?” 

“Yes, James. It’s not... My first time, you needn’t worry so much.” Lily told him then, sitting up as he had pulled back enough for her to do so, and she pulled to pull at the shirt, slipping it off her shoulders. 

“I don’t care it’s not your first time Lily, I care that you want this and that it’s good for you.” James reached for her face then. “I care about you, truly.” 

“I know.” She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch and smiling softly. “And I want this, and I’m sure you’ll make it good for me. If your kissing is anything to go by I’m sure to be impressed.” She smirked then, and the boy smirked back at her, pressing to kiss her again, slipping his hands into her hair. 

James settled over her, helping her back down to the bed, rubbing her scalp as he deepened the kiss, stroking down her neck and her shoulders, encouraging her to move her hands back into his hair. He kissed her until he could feel her growing breathless and kissed along her jaw, nuzzling into her skin, taking a deep breath. 

“You smell so good.” He whispered heavily, moving to kiss down her chest, humming. She had stripped off her bra already, he figured when she pulled on the pajamas, and he had nothing but her creamy skin and her rosy nipples on display for him. He brushed his thumb over one of her nipples and watched as Lily arched into him. “Beautiful.” 

“James...” She whimpered, tugging at his hair, biting her lower lip as she looked down at him, her legs already rubbing together for friction as he hadn’t spread them apart yet. His lips found her nipple then, and he licked and sucked at it, his warm mouth on it making the other one tighten against the cool air as well. 

His hands moved down, and spread her legs so he could settle more comfortably between them and immediately he could feel one of Lily’s legs hook around his hips as he kissed her sternum, making his way to pay her other nipple some mind. 

“Come here... Kiss me.” She whined after a while, pulling at his hair and beckoning him closer once more. Lily kissed him eagerly once he did scratching through his scalp, down his neck, and across his shoulders, arching into him. She smirked against his lips when he actually grunted as she dragged her nails down his back then moved his hands to her trousers, nodding before he could pose her a question. 

“Fuck...” James breathed, chuckling almost incredulously, as he moved to start pushing down her pants, letting her help him with that, and then there it was, Lily Evans was basically naked under him. He slipped his hand into her knickers then and shivered along with her, as he rested his forehead against hers. 

“That’s it... Touch me, please.” Lily breathed heavily, grazing her nails slowly up James’ back, spreading her legs further for him, feeling her blush spread all the way down her body. She leaned her head back as he mouthed at her neck, and his long, thick fingers stroked her slit, teasing, avoiding her clit deliberately. “James...” She whined again and by the way he smiled he really enjoyed it when she did that, but he also didn’t deny her when she did, his fingers finding her clit. “Shit.” 

“Look at you all red and flushed for me, Lily... So pretty.” He whispered, and he would be worried he might be sounding a bit too full of himself but he was in so much genuine awe of her he hoped it came across. He rubbed at her clit slow and deliberately, working in strokes and circles, focusing on wat she liked once he figured out what that was. 

“Jesus, James...” She moaned, openly, holding onto his arms, closing her eyes, as she focused on what he was making her feel, the building up of her orgasm as his fingers worked her clit brilliantly, faster, rougher and more skillful than hers usually were. Her mind barely stopped to consider how many girls it took for him to be so good at this, as long as she was the one reaping the benefits now. “God, that feels good.” She sank her nails into his shoulders. 

“Tell me what you need, Lily, I’ll give it to you.” James leaned up to kiss her lips again, and she reached for his hair again, kissing him back deeply, breathing into his lips for him to put a finger inside her and so he did, making her hold on tighter to him. “Want another one?” He asked, and she nodded in agreement as she got used to the last one. 

“Faster.” Lily whimpered, as she got used to the second finger and he moved to rub her clit father, stroking into her with precision, her legs wrapped around his hips, as he kissed her pulling back to watch her quite frequently, the desire etched on his face doing wonders added to his actual touch. “I’m so close.” 

James grunted at that and rubbed her even faster, pressing closer to her as he felt her walls clenching around his fingers, head dropping to her shoulders, kissing her skin before he pulled back to watch her, catching the peak of her orgasm and her finding her way back down to reality as he rubbed her slowly, smiling. “Beautiful.” He whispered again, pulling his fingers back and bringing them up to his lips, licking them clean. 

Lily watched James as she caught her breath, licking her lips as he licked his fingers clean from her juices, and panted a bit harder at that, grazing her nails along his arms. “That was really good.” She whispered, smiling. 

“Was it?” He smiled softly, leaning to kiss her again gently, smiling wider as she hummed in agreement. “You were so good.” He whispered against her lips. “So good.” 

“I basically just laid here.” Lily smirked, kissing him back, rubbing his back. 

“Well, you were really pretty while doing so.” James smirked back, and leaned back watching her. “Do you want to...” He trailed off letting the question hang in the air. “Do you take the potion?” He pressed and Lily nodded again, already reaching down to push at his pants. 

“James Potter, If you dare ask me one more time if I’m sure I swear I will hex you.” She pressed purposefully and finished kicking off his trousers, leaving the both of them naked them, as she had already gotten rid of her underwear. 

“I could phrase it some other way.” He smiled, but Lily reached for his face and kissed him, wrapping her legs around his hips again. “Trust me, there’s nothing I’d like more than go through with this right now.” He said, earnestly, almost insecure. 

“Then do it James, you have my complete consent.” She whispered against his lips, and held onto his hair and his shoulder as he adjusted his body under her, soon she could feel his cock tracing her slit and she couldn’t help a peak, looking down. It was bigger than the boy she had lost her virginity to, about as thick, long and pulsing. Lily shivered, feeling it bump at her clit that was still sensitive. 

“Ready?” He asked and she nodded in agreement, clutching to him as James pushed into her slowly, inch by inch, displaying the kind of patience he himself didn’t know he had. He felt Lily’s body stretching to accommodate him as well, as he leaned to kiss her forehead, her temple, the tip of her nose, her lips, just trying to offer her any sort of comfort as possible. 

“Jesus Christ.” Lily whimpered, clutching to him, and trying to catch her breath as her body got used to the intrusion, much as it wasn’t her first time it wasn’t like she was very experienced either. James’ shoulder certainly would have indents of her fingernails on them the next morning. “You can move.” She told him after a while. 

And that he did, from there on it was magic, both their bodies fitting together so well it was nothing like anything they’d experienced before. Lily held onto him reaching for his back or his hair at times, as James held onto the headboard and her hip, focusing his movements. They both exchanged whimpers and grunts as his cock moved in and out of her intently, feeling her pussy trying harder to hold him in with each thrust. 

“Bloody Merlin.” He cried out at one point, picking up the pace, bringing out noises from her as well as he leaned to suck on her shoulder and nuzzle her neck. “I’m so close Lily... I can’t last much... Can I get you there again?” James asked almost desperately. He felt one of her hands reach for his and guide his between them again. 

“That’s it, oh God.” Lily held on to him again, letting go once more, and feeling as James picked up the pace in a slightly less focused manner and found his high soon enough again as well, hugging him as he did. 

The both of them took the time they needed to calm down then, as Lily rubbed at his back slow and softly, watching him, smiling when he finally leaned over to kiss her and kissing him back. “Do you want me to clean you up?” He asked, and she nodded softly before he found his wand, and cleaned up after then, rolling to the side and holding her into his chest. “Listen, Lily, if you just wanted to...” He trailed off, looking up at the ceiling then. “If you just needed this, and...” James tried again, but still didn’t manage to get the words out. 

“James?” She called up to him, and reached for his face, tracing his jaw gently as the boy finally looked down at her, and for all that had happened he did once again look like a boy. “Would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me, next weekend?” Lily offered softly, smiling at him. 

“You know what?” He smiled much the same, thoughts of teasing her about it crossing his mind but never sticking closing the gap between them and kissing her again. "I'd love that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it. All done, hope you guys enjoyed the ride.

**Author's Note:**

> The story's already done, so I'll be posting all chapters during the week and it should be done by next weekend. Comments might make me post faster, but honestly I don't even know if this fandom is still alive lol


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